


late night bloom

by ohmyheart



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Flower Language, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Minor Hwang Hyunjin/Seo Changbin, Teacher Minho, florist jisung, minho is unfortunately very dense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27174421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyheart/pseuds/ohmyheart
Summary: “All this time, I thought you were impossible to read, but it turns out you can be confused too.”Jisung heads back towards the counter, leaving behind a very confused Minho.“Wait, what does that mean?”Jisung looks up from the bouquet he was making, and Minho could see him try and hide his embarrassment behind his smile.“It’s kind of ironic. You don’t know if you’re friends with your coworkers, just like I was confused about if we were friends in school. I didn’t think you wanted to be my friend.”Minho stares at Jisung, stunned.In which Minho reconnects and learns a new language
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 25
Kudos: 141
Collections: MINSUNG SEASON: Colourful Autumn 2020





	late night bloom

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! here is my submission for minsung season!!
> 
> i picked the colour blue and i was inspired by the song blueming by iu!!
> 
> theres so many other great submissions so check out [the fic fest's twitter](https://twitter.com/minsungseason) for everyone else's submissions!

“We just wanted to announce that, as of last night, we’re engaged!”

Cheers and applause erupted throughout the staff room as everyone, Minho included, congratulated the happy couple.

Changbin and Hyunjin smiled brightly, arm in arm, as Changbin showed off the engagement ring on his finger to the teachers that approached them.

Minho hung back from the crowd, not knowing if joining in would be intruding. It was a weird thought to have, especially since Hyunjin and Changbin have been nothing but nice to him since he started working at the high school.

“Changbin has been stressed all week because Hyunjin has been acting weirdly,” Juyeon says, leaning against the table Minho was standing by. “He thought he was going to break up with him.”

“Aren’t they ridiculously in love with each other?” Minho asks.

“Look at you. You’ve only been here a month and you can clearly see it,” Sakura says. coming to stand by Minho’s other side. “If you can see it, I can’t see why Changbin would come to that crazy conclusion.”

They were two months into the new school year, meaning that it has been a month since Minho had started working here.

After spending six months applying to different high schools both in and out of the city straight after graduation, he finally got a call back from one who said they were in desperate need of a new literature teacher after the previous one had suddenly quit. After introducing himself to the staff room on the first day, he was already prepared to spend the rest of the year eating lunch in his classroom. Surprisingly, Changbin and Hyunjin immediately welcomed him with open arms and invited him to sit with him, which led to Juyeon and Sakura inviting themselves in order to, “save Minho from becoming the third wheel on his first day.”

He originally thought it was an odd group of friends, especially with how drastically different a lot of their subjects were. Sakura taught computer science, Hyunjin taught drama, and the only similarity was Changbin and Juyeon teaching gym. He quickly realized that their specialties had nothing to do with their friendship. In fact, the range of classroom stories they would share was even bigger because of it, which made for some very entertaining lunch breaks.

“You can always just give them a small, congratulatory gift instead of using your words,” Sakura says. “I’m probably going to get them a gift card or something.”

Minho furrows his eyebrows. “Wait, what should I get them then? I don’t want to copy you.”

“Chocolate? Flowers?” Juyeon suggests. “Actually, don’t get chocolate, I’ve decided that I’m doing that.”

“I’ll get them flowers then.” Minho pauses before speaking again. “I don’t know where to buy flowers.”

“There’s a place that just opened nearby,” Juyeon says. “I’ll send you the address.”

And that is how Minho ended up in front of Sunshine Flower Shop.

Cramped between a hair salon and a convenience store, the shop stood out between the two neutral coloured shops with its bright, multi-coloured bricks and hanging plants dangling from the awning. On the front window was a sign that read, “OPENING WEEK SALE!”

Entering the shop, Minho felt out of place in his plain white dress shirt and dark pants, especially since he was surrounded by flowers. The left wall was covered in flowers, all sorted into little holes and as Minho stepped closer, he saw that it was sorted alphabetically by name. It was an impressive amount of effort on the owner’s part.

“Hi, welcome to Sunshine Flower Shop! How can I—oh! Hi, Mr. Lee!”

Minho turned to the counter, surprised to see who was behind it.

“Hello, Yeojin.”

His student smiled brightly at him and pushed her bangs aside, unaware of the dirt that ended up smudging her face.

“Are you here for something specific, or just browsing?”

“I’m hoping to get a bouquet for a couple,” Minho explains. “They just got engaged. Do you have any flowers that mean ‘congratulations’ or something like that?”

Yeojin furrows her eyebrows, thinking hard.

“Um, I think I can get you some orchids? Or was it wisteria? Where’s that book?”

A voice pops up from the backroom as Yeojin struggles to remember.

“It’s okay, Yeojin. You can head back and finish up with the potted plants, I can…”

The voice trails off once the owner of it makes eye contact with Minho, and Minho could understand why.

“Jisung?”

He doesn’t look different compared to when Minho last saw him, but then again, it has only been six months since their graduation.

Donned in a pair of overalls, gardening gloves, and an obnoxiously bright headband to keep his hair out of his face, Jisung looked at Minho with wide eyes, much to Minho’s confusion.

Yeojin eventually breaks the silence. “You two know each other?”

“We know each other from university,” Jisung explains, snapping out of his daze. “Are you still living with Felix?”

Minho nods. “Still living with Jeongin?”

“He’s not getting rid of me anytime soon.”

Jisung chuckles as he takes off his gloves. He pats Yeojin’s head.

“It’s impossible to memorize so many flowers in less than a week. I can deal with the bouquet, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Jisung!”

Yeojin skips into the backroom as Jisung leans against the counter.

“You’re all dressed up. Did you find a teaching job?”

Minho smiles. “Luckily, yeah. I’ve been there for a month now, so that’s how I know Yeojin, she’s in my class. You know, when you said you were majoring in entrepreneurship, I didn’t think it would lead to this.”

Jisung shrugs. “Not many people knew that this was the end goal. So what was the bouquet you wanted?”

“My friends got engaged, so I want to congratulate them with something simple.”

Jisung hopped over the counter and headed to the wall of flowers, beckoning Minho towards him.

“There’s no flower that exactly means ‘congratulations.’ If you want simple, then white roses are the way to go. They’re always used in the event of engagements and weddings. I’m assuming you want a bit of sincerity in it though, right? Like you didn’t just grab the most obvious choice?”

“Uh, yeah. They’ve been really nice to me since I started working, so I want it to be nice.”

Jisung smiles and reaches over, grabbing a few yellow flowers.

“I’ll put in some yellow roses too. Friendship, gladness, good luck, and is just generally a mood booster since they’re so bright. I’m assuming you’re friends, right?”

Minho hesitates before answering. “I think so?”

That gets another laugh out of Jisung as he grabs the white roses.

“All this time, I thought you were impossible to read, but it turns out you can be confused too.”

Jisung heads back towards the counter, leaving behind a very confused Minho.

“Wait, what does that mean?”

Jisung looks up from the bouquet he was making, and Minho could see him try and hide his embarrassment behind his smile.

“It’s kind of ironic. You don’t know if you’re friends with your coworkers, just like I was confused about if we were friends in school. I didn’t think you wanted to be my friend.”

Minho stares at Jisung, stunned.

“I’ll admit to being hard to read because I know I am, but I thought we were sort of friends. Best friends? Not exactly, that was Jeongin and Felix, but we spent the last two years of school hanging out with them enough times for me to consider you more than an acquaintance. I thought you were the withdrawn one, so I never really tried to get closer. _I_ didn’t think _you_ wanted to be my friend.”

“Are you serious?”

“My cats didn’t scratch you when we were all Felix’s and I’s apartment for the first time. You had my approval.”

Jisung’s jaw drops.

“So you’re telling me I actually had a chance to—” he cuts himself off, changing his sentence. “So we’re both dumb?”

Minho laughs. “I think so.”

Jisung finishes up the bouquet and rings up Minho’s purchase.

“Thank you for choosing Sunshine Flower Shop,” Jisung says in a much too proper voice, handing the bouquet to Minho. “I hope you enjoyed our services.”

“Four and a half stars. You would get five, but your employee didn’t do her homework yesterday.”

“I FORGOT!” Yeojin yells from the back.

Minho laughs, taking a step back from the counter. His laughter dies down as he looks at Jisung.

“It was nice seeing you again,” he says.

“You too, Minho,” Jisung replies.

It felt like there was something more to be said, but Minho turns around and leaves before either of them could say it.

Minho is lost in thought the whole drive home.

Jeongin had been Jisung’s friend since high school, as was Felix with Minho, so when the two became friends in university, it was inevitable that Jisung and Minho would have to spend time together.

This whole time, Minho believed that the awkward tension surrounding them was just because Jisung just took a while to warm up to people. The two never bothered to reach out to each other after graduation, so Minho assumed that was the end of their strange friendship. Clearly, he was wrong, and he confused Jisung just as he confused Minho.

Now, Minho just wanted to redeem himself in Jisung’s eyes, but it wasn’t until he got home that he realized that he forgot to ask for his phone number.

Actually, did Jisung even want to see him again? He didn’t say anything about catching up one day or talking later, so who’s to say that Jisung wasn’t bitter over Minho’s behaviour for the past two years?

He sets the bouquet down on the table and sees the business card that Jisung stuck in it fall out. He picks it up and takes a closer look, smiling at the sun logo at the front of it. He turns it around, expecting the shop’s address and phone number, only to be surprised by the note written on it.

_“I really hope you don’t give your friends the bouquet before seeing this.”_

Underneath that was a phone number, different from the one printed on the card, and a smile grew on Minho’s face.

* * *

The next problem he had was deciding when to actually text him. His reconnection with Jisung now had him worrying over every detail. Would it be annoying to text him during work hours? Would he accidentally interrupt something important and upset Jisung? What if he was a bad texter and Jisung gives up on him?

(He actually asked Felix about that last one once he got home, and he was pleased to hear that as long as he kept sending him pictures of cats, he considered him a wonderful texter.)

After a few hours, in the middle of marking a few assignments late at night, his boredom got the best of him and he pulled out his phone.

 **Minho:** you’re very lucky the card fell out of the bouquet

 **Minho:** you could’ve just asked me for my number instead of taking the risk

 **Jisung:** but where’s the fun in that

 **Jisung:** I'm assuming you want to talk?

 **Minho:** I’m actually in the middle of marking and could use some entertainment. can I call you?

 **Jisung:** of course!

Minho hits the call button and Jisung picks up immediately.

“What are you marking?” Jisung immediately asks.

“Just some responses to the chapters they were supposed to read,” Minho replies, putting him on speaker. “It’s what Yeojin forgot.”

“Oh no.”

Minho chuckles. “It’s fine. These aren’t worth much and I told her she could bring it tomorrow.”

“I wish my teachers were more like you,” Jisung says, and Minho could practically hear him pouting. “I hated getting chewed out for genuinely forgetting something minor.”

“That’s part of the reason why I wanted to be a teacher,” Minho says. “There were so many things that my teachers did that made me miserable, so I felt like I wanted to fix that and give students a better experience in the one hour they have me.”

“Aww. It’s like out of spite but in a sweet way.”

Minho is silent for a moment. “Yeah, I guess it is. What about you, though? You said not many people knew the flower shop was your end goal.”

“It’s pretty straightforward. I’ve always had a love for flowers,” he explained. “I did a lot of gardening with my parents as a kid, and one day, my mom bought me a book about flower language. I fell in love with it instantly and memorized everything in it by the time I hit high school. Flowers have always been such a big thing in my life, so I really wanted to open a flower shop and make it my future. Everything from gardening to the flower language is my passion.”

A slow smile grew on Minho’s face as Jisung spoke, envisioning a much smaller Jisung digging in the dirt in his backyard.

“It must feel good to finally achieve your goal,” Minho says. “I completely understand loving flowers, especially the flower language. I’ve always thought it was really cool, but never looked into it.”

Jisung’s voice perks up in his response.

“It’s sooo interesting to research. Colours play a role in it, and flowers that you think mean one thing actually mean another.”

“Like what?”

“Okay, um, do you know what marigolds look like?”

“Give me a second.”

Minho quickly pulls up a picture of the flower.

“Oh, that’s so pretty,” he says. “This isn’t going to end well, is it?”

Jisung chuckles. “You probably think it symbolizes something like joy, and while it does have some positive connotations, it also symbolizes cruelty, grief, and despair. It’s actually one of my favourite flowers.”

That takes Minho by surprise.

“Really? But you’re so…” He struggles to find the right words, eventually giving up. “You run a shop called Sunshine and have coloured bricks outside. I wouldn’t expect that from you.”

“It’s not like I like the meaning of it,” Jisung explains. “I like it because of how unexpected it is. You look at it assuming one thing, and get surprised about the real meaning. Also, it’s cheesy, but poetic in a way. Something beautiful standing strong despite the heavy weight it carries.”

“Oh, wow…” Minho whispers. “That’s a positive way of looking at it. That definitely sounds more like you.”

“You familiar with me now, Minho? Are we friends now?”

“I think we need to redeem ourselves,” Minho replies. “And the first step to that is being friends.”

“Then I guess we’re fr—”

Jisung gets cut off by the sound of shouting in the background. Minho could barely make out the words “shut the fuck up,” and “7 am,” before it went silent.

“Jeongin?” he asks.

“Jeongin,” Jisung repeats, now whispering. “He has to get up early in the morning. Can we continue this conversation tomorrow?”

“Of course. Have a good night, Jisung.”

Jisung hangs up, leaving him alone in the silence of his room.

They were friends now at least, and Minho is surprised at just how relieved he felt with this confirmation.

He was a bit worried about how Jisung abruptly ended the call, but before he could overthink it and jump to the worst case scenario, his phone screen lights up with a text from Jisung.

It was just one image of a small, blue flower with five petals. Right after that, Jisung sends Minho a text.

 **Jisung:** good night, Minho :]

 **Minho:** what’s with the flower?

 **Jisung:** just something nice to send

 **Jisung:** don’t think too much about it

 **Jisung:** it’s called a forget-me-not

 **Minho:** okay then

 **Minho:** good night again

 **Minho:** :]

Minho spends the next 20 minutes marking the rest of his work, unaware of the tiny flower he subconsciously doodles on the corner of one of the pages.

* * *

It was surprising how quickly talking to Jisung has fit into Minho’s everyday life.

On his way to work, Jisung texted him and told him to tell him what Changbin and Hyunjin thought of the bouquet, demanding that Minho tell them the meaning behind the flowers.

He did, and the two immediately started teasing him after thanking him, but seeing the genuine joy on their faces when he explained the meaning behind it was enough to make him put up with it.

Anytime he wasn’t doing work, he was texting Jisung. With Jisung also working, they didn’t have full conversations until the evening, but that didn’t stop Minho from sending him multiple messages and setting his phone down to wait for a response.

It was crazy to think about how much the two of them clicked once they came to the realization that the other person actually wanted to be friends, and it only made him regret not doing anything about it sooner.

He asked Felix about one day when they were both watching a movie, wanting to see what his best friend had to say about it.

“Jeongin and I never wanted to push you two,” he had said. “You guys never had any negative tension between the two of you, so I assumed you two were happy where you were. I’m not sure what Jeongin thought exactly, but considering he never said or did anything, it’s probably the same thing.”

Part of him was grateful that they didn’t want to make the two of them uncomfortable, but another part of them wished they were nosy and annoying and locked them in a room to make them sort out their issue.

He ended up bringing it up to Jisung the next time they spoke on the phone, once again late at night.

“I’m pretty sure I would’ve killed Jeongin if he made me hang out with you alone while I still thought that you didn’t want to be friends,” Jisung says. “He knew everything I felt.”

"I'm not scary!"

"But you can be," Jisung insists. "I remember one of the first times I saw you, you looked completely murderous. I was going to go up to you to say hi but decided not to after seeing your face."

Minho chuckles. "Well, we met once I started my teaching degree, so I probably did look murderous when you saw me because of my giant workload."

"Okay, but do you remember Felix's birthday party? When we were all playing Mafia and we were the mafia?"

"The closest I ever felt to you was when we both decided to kill Jeongin first," Minho says. "He was so mad."

"He's too dramatic sometimes, and that's a lot coming from me." Minho hears Jisung take a breath. "I had a lot of fun that day with you, but things went back to how they usually were the next day, so I took that as confirmation that you didn't really want to be friends."

Minho smacks his forehead with his hand and lets out a groan.

"I thought you were acting super friendly because you drank a bit. That's why I didn't do anything the next day."

"Minho, we can't keep doing this."

That got a loud laugh out of Minho. He puts a hand over his mouth to try and silence himself, hoping not to wake up Felix in the next room over.

"You know what?" Minho asks once he calms down. "Forget about all our stupid mistakes. We've reconnected now, right? That's all that matters now. I'm glad this happened."

Jisung's voice goes quiet. "You are?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Minho sits up on his bed. "I think the only other person I talk to this frequently is Felix, and that's because I've known him for years. It's been a week since we first started talking again, so you should be impressed with yourself."

Jisung is silent for a moment before speaking.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're very strange sometimes?"

"Yes."

"I like it," Jisung says. "You're like the marigold. Unexpected."

"Am I also pretty like a marigold?"

Minho freezes, not knowing where the question came from.

"y—yeah, sure," Jisung stutters out, much to Minho's amusement.

Minho looks over at the clock in his room, his eyes widening once he sees that it is midnight.

"I think you and this job have managed to ruin my sleep schedule."

"It's only midnight, though."

"Which is a lot considering I usually sleep at 9 pm."

"Ew," Jisung teases. "I'm friends with an old man."

"An old man who has to be up at 6 am. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Jisung."

Jisung abruptly ends the phone call again, and Minho worries for a moment before a text appears.

It was another blue flower, but instead of one, there were multiple all climbing up and sprouting from one stem, making one large flower.

 **Minho:** this one looks cool

 **Jisung:** I have never heard a flower be described as cool before, but then again, it's you I'm talking to

 **Jisung:** This one’s a delphinium

 **Jisung:** good night, Minho :)

 **Minho:** good night, Jisung :)

That night, Minho dreams of a garden the colour of the sea.

* * *

“You know, Jeongin told me something very interesting today.”

Jisung immediately starts to panic. “You saw Jeongin? What did he tell you? Why were you talking to him? Whatever he told you, it’s a lie.”

Minho stayed late at school today in order to mark his student’s tests and get them back to them immediately. By the time he finished, the sun was setting and he had no motivation to cook, and that was how he found himself inside a restaurant, waiting for his takeout. Surprisingly, Jeongin was there too, doing the exact same thing.

“We coincidentally ran into each other, chatted for a bit, and then he brought you up,” Minho explains, enjoying every second he spends making Jisung think he knows some embarrassing secret.

“And he said…?”

Minho ditches the teasing tone when he answers. “He said you thought I was cool during university.”

“That’s it?” Jisung asks, sounding surprised. “That’s all he told you?”

“Should he have told me more?”

“No?”

“Okay?”

There is a stretch of awkward silence before Minho speaks again.

“I was confused though. I thought you thought I didn’t want to be your friend, so why did you think I was cool?”

“‘Cool’ is a strong word for the situation,” Jisung explains. “‘Cool’ means I knew you well, which I didn’t. It was more like—actually, nevermind. It’s stupid.”

“Jisung, I’m not just saying this because I’m nosy, but I really don’t think what you’re going to say is stupid,” Minho says. “I like hearing what you have to say.”

“Oh,” Jisung whispers.

Minho couldn’t see his face, but he could probably imagine it. Anytime someone told Jisung something bluntly, he would, subconsciously or not, pout his lips and furrow his eyebrows as he tried to process what the person had told him. For better or for worse, his want to be Jisung’s friend resulted in him paying just enough attention to him to notice some of his habits.

“You intrigued me? I guess that’s the word for it,” Jisung finally says. “I know I joke about you being scary and all, but there is something about you that makes people want to pay attention to you, if that makes sense. It’s like tunnel vision. Getting to know you is like a goal to achieve.”

Minho feels his face heat up hearing Jisung’s words. He opens his mouth to answer, but closes it quickly, not knowing what to say.

It was like every time he spoke to Jisung, he learned something new about himself, but this time, it felt different.

He knew people found him intimidating at first glance, and he knew that he needed to warm up to people, but he didn’t know that he was someone desirable, much less to Jisung.

“Was that too much? I told you it was stupid.”

“NO! No, not at all,” Minho says hurriedly. “I was just surprised. It was really nice.”

Jisung makes a noise that Minho could only assume was accompanied by a shrug.

“I’m sure other people feel that way too,” he mutters.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Minho lets out a yawn, which was then followed by Jisung’s laughter.

“It’s 9:02 pm. Does the old man need his rest?”

Minho scrunches his face. “I do! I’m going to be well rested with my nine hours of sleep.”

“I’ll get out of your hair then.”

Jisung hangs up the phone and Minho stares at the screen, waiting for his good night text.

It appears after a few minutes, and Minho was surprised to see two different ones. Tonight’s flowers were, once again, blue. On the first one, the petals hung off the stem facing downwards, and it was shaped like a bell you’d see in a tower. On the second one, multiple, thin, blue petals sprouted from the center.

 **Minho:** so tiny…

 **Minho:** and two today?

 **Jisung:** I’m feeling extra lovely today

 **Jisung:** a bluebell and a chicory

 **Jisung:** you like these ones? I have both of them growing in my garden right now

 **Jisung:** I’ll show you them next time you come by

 **Minho:** I’m excited

 **Jisung:** good night Minho ^-^

 **Minho:** good night, Jisung ^-^

Minho put his phone away and fell back onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. The only thought in his head was what Jisung had said earlier.

_“I’m sure other people feel that way too.”_

Part of Minho hoped that it was just Jisung who felt that way about him.

* * *

"Okay, if nobody is asking, I will. Who have you been texting so much the past few weeks?"

Minho looks up from his phone to see Sakura staring at him. Behind her was Juyeon, Changbin, and Hyunjin, all staring at her incredulously, like she said something she wasn't supposed to.

"Old college friend that I reconnected with," Minho responds. "He actually owns the flower shop Juyeon told me about. Funny enough, Yeojin works there."

"You've been glued to your phone so much lately that I was getting concerned," Juyeon says.

"I'm surprised too. I didn't expect to be constantly talking with him so much."

"I overheard Yeojin in class talking about seeing you at work and how you had a weird conversation with her boss. Was that the guy?" Hyunjin asks.

"Of course she was gossiping," Minho sighs. "Yeah, that was him. What did she say?"

Hyunjin does a not so great job at hiding his laughter.

"Nothing you should worry about."

Before Minho could speak again, Changbin interrupted.

"Well, _I_ think Minho being on his phone constantly isn't a bad thing as long as he's still doing his job. That's how Hyunjin and I first became friends."

"You ignored all your surroundings and only focused on him?" Sakura asks.

"Yes."

"I don't think you wanted to just be Hyunjin's friend. I don't know about Minho, though."

Minho looks up from his phone again, confused.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

His four friends looked at each other before turning back to him.

"Nothing," they all say.

* * *

Once it hit 9:01 pm and Minho realized that he was not tired in the slightest, he went to his room, laid down on his bed, and called Jisung.

Jisung speaks the moment he picks up.

"Perfect timing, I was just about to text you a question. Do you know what Yeojin's favourite colour is?"

"Umm..." Minho thinks for a moment. "Her backpack and pencil case and notebook are all orange, so maybe that? If it isn't her favourite, she at least doesn't hate it. I can't imagine her buying things in a colour she hates."

"How do you know all that? And thank you, by the way. I wanted to make a bouquet for her birthday soon."

"I've had to approach her desk many times to get her to stop chatting and finish her work."

Jisung laughs at that. "I actually don't mind her chatting, but that's probably because she gets customers to like her whenever she helps them. If they like her, they’ll come back."

"She just needs the right setting. Hyunjin was telling me that she was even gossiping about how you and I know each other during his class."

"There is nothing more interesting to a high schooler than seeing a teacher outside of school." There is a brief silence before Jisung speaks again. "You mentioned Hyunjin. Is that one of the guys who are getting engaged?"

"Yup, him and Changbin," Minho replies. "They're still complimenting the flowers, by the way. They were impressed when I said that you grew them yourself in the garden in the back."

"All my customers will receive the best of the best," Jisung declares. "I also do not mind if you tell them that I do weddings too. I will go all out. Each table will have a bouquet with one flower for every year they've known each other."

"I'll be sure to subtly mention it. I think it's over five years together, but they were friends before."

Surprisingly, Jisung squeals. "They were friends first? That's so cute. Who fell for who first?"

To Minho, Jisung's excitement was unexpected. He didn't expect him to be a romantic.

"Changbin fell for him first. There was a lot of quiet pining before he had enough and finally confessed."

"Did he know Hyunjin liked him back?" Jisung asks, and Minho notices how the excitement disappeared from his voice.

"No, but he decided to take the risk anyway. A smart move if you ask me."

"Really?"

"You don't think so?"

"The risk of it going wrong is too much for me. That's why I always kept quiet."

Minho freezes, catching his slip up. "Did you like someone back in university?"

Minho hears Jisung's breath hitch, like he didn't realize what he just admitted.

"I did, but it wasn't going to work out," Jisung finally says, his voice much quieter. "I'm fine not doing anything about it."

There was a strange feeling in his chest when he heard that Minho couldn't quite place, so he just ignores it. "You said 'I'm fine,' not 'I was fine.' Do you still like the person?"

Jisung goes quiet again before responding. “I thought I was over him, but I recently realized that I wasn’t.”

“And you never did anything during university?”

“I almost did, after our graduation, but I realized that I never gave any indication that I liked him for so long that it would be crazy to hear from his point of view.”

“You don’t know for sure until you try, though,” Minho insists. “Do you prefer not having an answer?”

“I already have an answer,” Jisung says solemnly. “He seems very happy as friends, so I’d rather not ruin that. For a brief moment, I thought I could have a chance now, but there’s no point.”

“But—”

“It’s past 9:00. I shouldn’t keep you up anymore,” Jisung interrupts.

“I…” Minho felt defeated. “Okay.”

Jisung hangs up, leaving Minho, who still felt wide awake, sitting in silence.

He felt guilty for hitting a nerve there, and he felt even more guilty for trying to push him, especially since Jisung kept insisting that he won’t do it. 

He’s snapped out of his thoughts by a text from Jisung, which genuinely surprised him. He didn't think he would be getting a good night tonight.

It seemed like Jisung had a bias towards blue flowers with small petals with multiple ones branching out from one stem, because that was what he got again. The petals were all connected, with one half of it bunched up in the middle. Minho texts him back, hoping to lighten the mood.

 **Minho:** these flowers are almost as small as you

 **Jisung:** you—

 **Jisung:** first off, this is a sweetpea

 **Jisung:** second, I’m not that small

 **Minho:** isn’t Jeongin taller than you now?

 **Jisung:** I don’t know and I’m not checking

 **Jisung:** good night, Minho

 **Minho:** good night, Jisung ;P

Minho puts his phone down, frowning.

“He didn’t put a face at the end,” he whispers.

* * *

“Is your phone dead? I have my charger with me if you need it.”

Minho looks up from his lunch to see Juyeon reaching into his bag.

“Oh, no, it’s okay. My phone isn’t dead,” Minho says, reaching a hand out to stop Juyeon.

“You haven’t been on it all day, so that’s what we assumed,” Changbin says.

“Do you guys regularly have conversations about me?”

“I made a group chat after yesterday’s conversation,” Sakura answers. “Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.”

Minho glances over at Hyunjin, who just nods his head.

“Did you and your friend fight?” Changbin asks.

“No,” Minho says quickly.

He technically wasn’t lying. He and Jisung didn’t fight, they just had an awkward conversation, and now, Minho keeps checking his phone in the hopes that Jisung will be the one to text first.

“Hyunjin, I have a question,” Minho begins. “Did you know Changbin liked you before he confessed?”

“Nope,” Hyunjin replies.

“And you were happy when he finally asked you out?”

“I mean, not in the way you’d think.” Hyunjin puts his sandwich down. “I had an interest in him, but it wasn’t as big as Changbin’s crush on me. It wasn’t until he asked me out that I began to realize some small, hidden feelings. I said yes to him because I felt drawn to him and wanted to get to know my friend in a romantic context, and things worked out great, clearly.” 

He gestured to the engagement ring. “I will never regret being open to being with Changbin. It’s one of the best decisions of my life. The feeling of slowly falling in love with him over time is something I’ll never forget.”

“So taking the risk was a good thing?” Minho asks.

“It was, but I also wouldn’t blame him if he never said anything. It’s scary.”

“But then you wouldn’t be together.”

“It’s not all on Changbin,” Hyunjin said. “Who knows where my feelings would’ve led if given more time. They could have grown stronger and I would’ve been the one to ask him instead.”

“Are you saying we were always meant to be together?” Changbin asks.

Minho, Sakura, and Juyeon all groan as they watch Hyunjin give Changbin a kiss.

Hyunjin turns back to Minho. “What I’m saying is not every relationship will start with equal feelings, but that doesn’t mean it will end badly. The other person just needs a wake up call to their own feelings and an open mind to try it out. If they are really dedicated to pursuing it, then I think they should make the first move for the other person’s sake and prove that they mean it.”

“Okay.” Minho slowly nods. “I never thought of it that way, but it makes sense that not every relationship will start the same.”

“I’m not sure where the sudden interest is coming from, but I hope that was a good enough explanation.”

“It was. I just needed to think of some advice for a friend if the topic ever came up again.”

Minho looks down at his phone and frowns, not noticing his friends glancing at each other.

The day ended with no messages, and if it weren’t for the fear of Jisung being annoyed with him, Minho would have sent a hundred messages by now.

Eventually, around 9:30, Minho finally gets a phone call.

“You’re awake?” Jisung immediately asks.

“I was waiting for you,” Minho replies.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? I should be apologizing for pushing you.”

“I didn’t feel like talking to anyone today, and I ended up ignoring you with zero explanation,” Jisung explained.

“You don’t need to apologize for taking time off and resting,” Minho replies. “I’m just glad you’re feeling better now.”

“You don’t have to apologize either. I thought about what you said,” Jisung continues. “As much as I want to say ‘fuck it’ and just go for it, I don’t know if I can.”

A part of Minho was glad to see Jisung being open to his idea, while another part of him felt the same feeling in his chest as before. Just like before, he ignored it. Right now, he was focusing on Jisung and his happiness.

“You guys are friends, right? What if one day, the other guy approached you and asked you out first.”

“HA!” Jisung laughs. “That’s not happening, trust me. I know I was being all negative before, but that is _definitely_ not happening.”

 _“Ok, there goes that plan,”_ Minho thinks. _“Onto the next one.”_

“Okay, so we have to rely on you making the move, that’s fine.”

“Except for the giant risk.”

“Is that the only thing stopping you?” Minho asks.

“It’s just…” Jisung takes a deep breath. “I’m not the best with words, and that's why I love flower language so much. Flowers are the words that get caught in my throat. Every single one I give has meaning.” 

“Then you can send him a flower.”

There is a long stretch of silence on the other end before Jisung finally speaks, sounding very, very tired.

“I tried that too, Minho. Every flower I sent showed my feelings over time, but I think he either never figured it out, or he did and didn’t want to say anything, and that’s okay. At least now I can stop wasting my time and effort.”

“Jisung—”

“I think you’re rubbing off on me, because I’m getting sleepy.”

Minho bites his tongue before he could push any further.

“Look who’s old now,” he jokes, attempting to keep his voice light.

“It’s still you.”

Jisung hangs up.

It seemed like Jisung had his message planned this time, because he sent it immediately after hanging up.

Blue once more, the singular petal circled the entire flower, making it round, and Minho couldn’t help but laugh as he was reminded of Jisung’s face.

 **Jisung:** this is a morning glory

 **Jisung:** good night, Minho <3

 **Minho:** good night, Jisung <3

No quick conversation, no jokes being made. Minho couldn’t help but feel like something had permanently shifted in their relationship.

* * *

Minho was starting to believe that Jisung had accidentally pavloved him into reacting to blue flowers, because when he saw Yeojin walk into class holding a bundle of blue flowers, he felt a pang in his chest as he immediately checked his phone.

Yeojin went up to her friends and began to hand them out.

“These are cute!” one of her friends says. “What are they?”

“Blue daisies!” Yeojin happily answers. “They mean happiness, purity, and innocence, but let's focus on the happiness part of the gift.”

“Did you pick these out because of the meaning?”

“Of course! My boss said that you should only give a flower to someone if you know the meaning behind it. Every flower holds its own special message.”

And just like that, everything clicked into place for Minho.

He could barely concentrate on the lesson he was giving. All he can think about were the flowers sitting in his chat with Jisung that his dumb ass never bothered to look up for some reason. Why wouldn’t he look up the flowers the florist sent him? What was wrong with him?

The bell finally rings and as his students get up to leave and go home, he calls Yeojin over.

“Was there something due? I’m sorry,” she says the moment she walks over.

“No, don’t worry, I need your help with something,” Minho says as he checks his texts and writes the names of the flowers down. He hands the list over to her. “Can you tell me what each of these flowers means?”

“Sure! I finally memorized more, so this should be easy.”

Yeojin sits on Minho’s desk, much to his displeasure, and begins to explain each flower.

“A forget-me-not is self-explanatory, it just means don’t forget me. A delphinium means an openness to new experience and an overall feeling of positivity. Chicories mean love, desire, and affection, while bluebells mean everlasting love and constancy. This is where things get heavy. A sweetpea is like a departure or a goodbye. It can also mean ‘thank you for a lovely time.’ Morning glories are pretty depressing. It means an unrequited love or a love that is in vain.”

Yeojin looks up from the paper and at Minho, who was staring at the paper in horror.

“Mr. Lee, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Minho whispers. “Please tell me you don’t have work today.”

“I don’t. Jisung is there alone today.” Yeojin then puts a hand over her mouth and gasps, realizing the truth. “Did he—”

“You already know too much about my personal life, goodbye.”

Minho grabs his bag and rushes out of the classroom. As he quickly walks over to his car, he pulls out his phone, looking up a list of flowers.

When he finally arrives at Jisung’s shop, he walks in and immediately heads to the counter where Jisung was standing.

Jisung’s eyes widen once he sees him.

“Oh, hey, did you come to see the—”

Minho interrupts him. “Do you have a love-in-the-mist?”

Jisung blinks, confused, before walking around the counter towards the wall of flowers. He heads over to one side of it and pulls out one flower, handing it to Minho.

Minho takes it, examines it for a moment, before handing it back to Jisung.

“What are you doing?” Jisung asks, staring at the flower in Minho’s hand.

“I’m giving you a flower, duh,” Minho says bluntly. “Every flower given should be given with the meaning in mind, and that’s that I’m doing. You do know the meaning of this, right? You’re not just growing random flowers?”

“I—it—” Jisung struggles to string his words together. “It means perplexity, you puzzle me, kiss me, and openness to love… You figured it out?”

“Some of it confused me, but once I got to the morning glory, I panicked.”

Jisung smiles and heads over to the counter, sitting on top of it.

“The forget-me-not was after our first phone call, and it was me being grateful that you didn’t forget me. The openness to new experiences with the delphinium was about us reconnecting. That was also the night I realized my feelings for you never truly went away. The bluebell and chicory were about my almost two year long crush on you. The sweetpea was both about us never talking again after graduation and me attempting to say goodbye to my feelings for you, and the morning glory seems self-explanatory. It was all one-sided.”

“But it’s not.” Minho holds up the flower in his hand. “I don’t think we ever became friends because I don’t think we were meant for just friendship. I may not have pined for you for two years, but I like you enough to know that I want to pursue this.”

Jisung sat there, speechless.

“Are you serious?” he chokes out. “I thought you only liked me as a friend.”

Minho laughs, walking up to Jisung and stopping right in front of him. “I had a very big wake up call. Also, looking back, I wouldn’t talk to you constantly for weeks on end unless I was feeling _something_ for you.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said I should be impressed with myself, huh?”

“I wasn’t. Although, I can’t believe you were weird with me all throughout university because you had a crush on me.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I still thought you didn’t want to be my friend.”

Minho bursts out laughing as Jisung takes the flower from Minho’s hand.

“Did you pick this flower aware that it also means kiss me?”

“Yes.”

“So, can I—”

“Yes, you can.”

If every flower Jisung sent were the words stuck in his throat, then every petal tasted sweet in Minho’s mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed!!!
> 
> [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/jeongminsung)
> 
> [CuriousCat!](https://curiouscat.me/sosweetie)


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